Bodyguard
by Captain Arbitrary
Summary: Maybe her grandmother was onto something, after all. Rise has always needed a man who could make her feel safe and secure, while guarding himself against her feminine wiles. And, in essence, Kanji is the perfect candidate. RisexKanji


I adore RisexKanji, so I decided to make a story about them. It was supposed to be a one shot, but I have a few ideas now and I've decided to make this a short story. I truly hope you enjoy the first chapter, and any feedback would be great. Thank you.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persona or these characters.

* * *

"Hey, it's Rise-chan!" A voice shouted at her; just a typical high school boy who was passing by on his bike, grinning like an idiot at the ex-idol. "'Sup, Risette?"

She sighed, answering out of boredom, "The sky."

"She's so damn gorgeous, isn't she? What I wouldn't give to have Risette as my girlfriend…" Another boy remarked amongst his group of friends, cowering behind them when she passed by.

She rolled her eyes, and spoke loud enough for them to hear, "Yeah, you and every other guy in town."

"It's a shame she's underage, huh?" A young man in his twenties nudged his friend, who silently agreed. Rise blushed and subtly glared at them, which only seemed to provoke them into a fit of laughter. "Hah! Hey, don't worry; we still think you're hot!"

She silently hurried on her way, refusing to look back at them even when they tried to get her attention again.

"Hey there, beautiful." An older, middle-aged businessman teased, staring after her as she calmly gave him the cold shoulder. She saw the wedding band on his finger, not that she was looking.

_Gross…_

It was just another day in the life of Rise Kujikawa, but she was getting tired of it all.

She could not walk down the street even once without being noticed. Even in rural Inaba, even on a foggy, rainy day, even months after settling down here. She gripped the handle of her umbrella and hurried along to Marukyu, sprinting away from wandering eyes and hungry stares that perversely watched how, as she rushed right past them, the clashing winds lifted her uniform skirt.

Understandably, she thought to herself, it was every high school boy's dream to get with the famous ex-idol Risette, so at school she learned to deal with the extra attention, the whistle blowing in the hallway, the series of after-school confessions by boys who pretended to love her for more than just her fame and body…

No, she could deal with all of that. It was annoying, yet bearable. She had wanted to be popular as a child, and she had gotten her wish alright.

Rather, it was the older men she couldn't stand. It didn't matter that she was only sixteen; her fans were as diverse in personality and appearance as they were in age. She was always wary of their motives, their sickly perverse stares, even the stories floating around town about high school girls being felt up in public places. Incidents that had gone unnoticed. And it was bad enough that the killer was still on the loose, the same killer who had abducted her three months prior. Without the protection that came with the status of an idol, Rise was on her own. She was a normal, teenage high school student, and as liberating as it was for her, it was equally terrifying. Though she kept all of this to herself, not wanting her grandmother or her friends to worry unnecessarily about her. It was a sacrifice she had willingly made when she chose this lifestyle.

All of this suddenly reminded her of the other day, how her grandmother had intuitively brought her aside at work to ask her about school and life. Rise found it difficult to hide things from her grandmother, who had a knack for being unpredictable. Usually, the older woman would leave her alone, never asking about her days as an idol or even her personal life. But she had become cunning in her old days, noticing all of these men, young and old, who would come in to buy tofu if only to steal glances at her granddaughter.

"_Rise, you're blossoming into a beautiful young woman by the day." Her grandmother began softly, watching Rise silently prepare a container of silken tofu at her station. "All of these men coming in to see you must be flattering, but it also worries me… You know I don't want to see anything bad happen to you."_

"_Grandma, I can take care of myself." Rise answered stiffly, frowning. She knew this would come up sooner or later._

"_I know you can." The older woman beamed with pride at her granddaughter, who was much stronger than she had ever been. "And after everything you've been through, you deserve your rest, dear."_

"_Thanks, Grandma. But you really shouldn't worry about me, because I'm doing just fine." Rise said, forcing a smile._

"_Well, I do hope so, for your own sake... Because you shouldn't bare everything on your own, or you'll never find happiness." She answered intuitively." All I'm saying is that you would put this old woman to ease if you had a friend to look after you."_

"_A friend to look after me?" The ex-idol blinked, confused. "What, like a bodyguard?" _

_Sure, she had her share of nameless, brainless bodyguards when she was still in showbiz, but this was her life now—quiet and peaceful in the backwater countryside. What good would it do having some giant oaf following her around day and night? How would that assert any level of independence? _

"_Ho ho, well, if you want to call it that." Her grandmother laughed heartily before turning to greet the next customer._

"What did she mean?" Rise groaned, tugging at her pigtails as she slammed her bedroom door shut. "Hiring a bodyguard would just attract more attention, wouldn't it?"

She sighed and flopped onto her bed, absently flipping through a magazine of _Teen Dream_ with Kanamin posing provocatively on the cover.

"I don't need to be protected!" She huffed, glaring into the magazine. "I'm done with being an idol!"

By the time she had gotten through reading all the articles and scoffing at all the young models, the rain had settled down and it was already nightfall.

No Midnight Channel tonight, she figured. They had already saved Naoto-kun the other day anyway.

She tossed the magazine into the garbage and walked over to the large window situated above her loveseat. It had a nice view of the main strip of the Southern Shopping District, and from there she could people-watch without being watched.

She knelt upon the couch and folded her arms, resting them against the windowsill. After a few moments, she perched her chin upon her wrist, blowing a tuft of hair out of her face.

Not much went on outside when night had fallen, even though it wasn't safe to be out there alone. She silently wished that she could just go wherever she wanted, lurk the streets at night without being afraid—to have that kind of absolute freedom. It was bad enough just being a girl to be out alone at night, and being an ex-idol only made her twice as paranoid. Nighttime was just too unpredictable to risk anything these days, especially after she had been kidnapped. And Rise was certainly more of a lover than a fighter.

She immediately caught sight of two high school boys running out from the darkness and being shown visibly under the blaring street light in front of Marukyu. They were laughing like a couple of hyenas, panting heavily as they stopped for a moment to breathe.

"That was awesome!" One of them said, loud enough for the whole street to hear.

"Y-yeah but, do you think he recognized us?" The other remarked nervously. "I hope he doesn't find out that we go to Yasogami, too…"

"He won't if you keep your mouth shut!" The louder boy barked at his timid companion.

After a moment of awkward silence, the softer-spoken boy turned towards the tofu shop and beamed. "Hey, you think Marukyu's still open? Risette's probably home by now, isn't she?"

Upon hearing this, Rise quickly jumped up from her seat and turned the light off, hoping that they hadn't noticed her from her bedroom window.

"She doesn't work on Friday's, remember?" The louder boy remarked. "We should definitely come back on Monday though, from four to eight."

"Sounds like a plan." His friend nodded.

The two boys grinned simultaneously.

_Oh brother…_

"So you punks think you're fuckin' hilarious, don't cha?" A voice growled from the darkness.

"OH SHIT! Run for it!" The boys quickly turned and fled from the scene. Rise giggled when she saw Kanji's silhouette flash past the streetlight in hot pursuit of those two.

A few moments passed when she thought that they had all gone, so she turned to get ready for bed. Yet out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw Kanji reappear under the streetlight. And there he was, spitting on the ground as he muttered curses to himself about letting them get away too easily.

Rise grinned and excitedly descended the staircase beside her room, sliding open the front door. Kanji looked up at her, startled at first, then absently smiled at her with that trademark goofy grin of his.

"Hey there, Rise-chan. What's up?"

"Look what you did, Kanji! You let them get away." She pouted. "I saw the whole thing!"

"Oh. Y-yeah! I know, right?" He answered heatedly, growing angrier by the second. "Those damn punks thought it would be hilarious to call me a fuckin' queer to my face! I AIN'T GAY, DAMN IT!" He ran a few steps ahead and threw a fist in the direction they had run off in.

"Aww, Kanji. Just don't listen to them..." She descended the front steps of her store, making her way over to him so she could pat his back. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll spit in their food when they come by my tofu shop on Monday?" She smiled wryly, with that playful glint in her eye.

_Actually, if they caught me doing that… they might just be sick enough to enjoy it._

"Oh, yeah, I did hear them say something like… comin' to see you on Monday. They fans of yours?" He asked.

"Who cares what they are! They're just a bunch of stupid boys…" She fidgeted uncomfortably, folding her arms at the mere thought of them coming to see her. "I really hope they don't come to our store just to hit on me. But, they will." She shrugged, figuring that there was no use wishing otherwise.

"Huh. Well, if they do show up on Monday, then I might just be around to greet them for you." He smirked, absently cracking his knuckles. "I've got a score to settle with those little punks for messin' with Kanji Tatsumi! Oh, uh, but wait… that's bad for your business, isn't it? Ma always gets pissed off when I do that in front of our store."

"You mean having a punk high school boy stalking outside my shop, waiting to beat up two other boys? Uh, yeah, it is." She giggled, clasping her hands behind her back. "Then again, anything outside our shop is free game, so be my guest!"

"Cool." He grinned, contently pounding his fist into the palm of his hand.

…A thought suddenly occurred to her.

"Hey Kanji-kun, would you mind walking me to school tomorrow?" She asked abruptly, out of nowhere, with her back to him. "I'd just… really appreciate it."

"Huh? Uh, sure, if you want. I can meet you here." He answered quickly, without asking why, though he continued to stare at her as though he was expecting some sort of an explanation.

"Great! You know, that's why I like you, Kanji. You don't ask questions, you just agree to things." She giggled flirtatiously, walking back towards her house with her arm raised up to wave goodbye. "See you tomorrow, then!"

He paused for a moment to think, then shrugged and went on his way.

* * *

The next morning, Rise excitedly descended the staircase with her school bag. If everything went according to plan, then this would solve all of her problems. But she needed to be sure by testing him out first.

In essence though, Kanji was the perfect candidate.

When she slid open the front door of Marukyu, helping her grandmother open the store, she saw that Kanji was standing right outside, waiting for her. He was leaning nonchalantly against the nearest lamp post, glaring at students passing by, who hurriedly went on their way once they saw him.

"Morning!" She announced happily, descending the front steps.

"Hey. Mornin'… " He nodded with a yawn, his chains jangling against the metal bar as he rose from his spot. "Ready to go?"

"Yup!" She grinned.

She waved goodbye to her grandmother as the two of them went on their way.

"I hope you know that I had to wake up extra early just to meet you here." He said listlessly, with a chiseled glare. Clearly, Kanji was not a morning person.

"Quit overreacting." Rise answered, slightly annoyed. "How much earlier did you wake up? I even live on the way to school! Besides, you'll be expelled if you're late or absent again, won't you Kanji?" She smirked. _So you benefit from picking me up from school._

"Tch. Don't remind me..." He groaned, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "This 'Mandatory Attendance Policy' crap really pisses me off! Who the hell came up with this shit? Just 'cuz I didn't go to school a couple days…"

"Two months, actually." Rise corrected.

"Fine. Two months tops." Kanji added, flustered. "But we go to school, what, 10... 11 months out of the year? It's not like I've missed _that_ much!"

"Hey, do you see that? What's Risette doing walking to school with Kanji, that biker gang guy?" A nosy high school boy whispered from behind them. Their ears perked up when they heard a loud 'SHH!' follow that statement.

"They're still calling you that, huh?" Rise casually asked her companion, without turning to see who they were. _Did it matter?_ She thought.

"Those punks never learn." Kanji threw down his bag, boiling in rage. The two high school students, a boy and a girl, promptly hurried along when they saw the tattooed boy glare at them over his shoulder.

Anyone else in the immediate area that had been staring, whether they were fellow students or bystanders, resumed whatever they were doing and nervously looked away. Kanji sighed irritably, muttering a 'Let's go' before hurrying on ahead.

Meanwhile, Rise's lips had coiled into a twisted grin as she ran after him, thinking of all the possibilities. Everything was working out nicely.

* * *

Later on, during lunch, Rise abruptly peeled Kanji away from the rest of the group and dragged him by the hand up to the accessible rooftop. Luckily, nobody else was around to witness what she had planned. He staggered along after her, snatching his hand away from her once she loosened her grip. Her back was turned away from him as she paused to stare out at the town through the rooftop chain link fence, debating with herself whether or not she should go through with this. It was a pretty stupid idea, yet so stupid that it could actually work in her favor.

"The hell's all this about?" He complained, clearly annoyed. Something was definitely different about her, at the moment.

Not that he was looking, he thought, but he swore that her skirt had shortened a few inches from this morning. The intensity of the wind from up here didn't help. And her hair was all dolled up with these …really cute little hair clips.

"I have a proposition for you, Kanji." She began stoically, an uncharacteristic emotion for Rise.

"Huh?" He looked clueless. "What's gotten into you?"

Rise decided that it was time to administer the second test.

When she turned around, Kanji found that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Along with her shortened skirt, the top three buttons on her uniform blouse had been undone, while the overall look she was going for was accentuated by her tousled hair and intense make-up. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw her walking towards him. He was entranced by the graceful, floating movement of her hips swaying to and fro, her arms pressed tightly underneath her breasts until her hands had found their way to her elbows and only then did she stop coming when she was mere inches away from him. He could even see the outline of her lacy pink bra covering her tightly-pressed cleavage. Heat began to rise to his cheeks until it had consumed his entire face and forced him to look away.

"I need your help with something." She demanded. He refused look her in the eye, too embarrassed to think of her the same way as he had all these months.

"S-so you try and seduce me into it?" He spat, nearly choking on his words. This girl standing in front of him looked like the Risette he had seen and heard about on TV, or else she was the Shadow of her that he had defeated alongside his friends, not the girl named Rise whom he'd grown to call his friend.

"Well… okay, that depends. Is it working?" Rise asked earnestly, allowing her hands to fall from her elbows to her hips.

"N-no, it's not. You're my friend, after all… B-but I ain't gay or anything!" He added quickly. "You do look cute, though... Kinda slutty, to be honest. I ain't complaining though."

Kanji winced, thinking he was going to get a slap for that, but she simply nodded at this.

"I know." The ex-idol teased, reaching under her un-tucked blouse to unroll her skirt back to its normal length. "I was testing you."

"For what?" His curious expression swiftly turned into a glare. "Wait a sec… You weren't trying to prove that—"

"No, of course not!" She quickly waved her hands, shaking her head. "I know you're straight, or at least bisexual. I can tell." Rise winked at him, giggling as he bashfully glanced away. "You're so cute, Kanji! But seriously, the thing is…" She hesitated, trying to think about how she was going to phrase this. She decided that for someone like Kanji, a straightforward approach was best. "I'll be blunt. I want to hire you to be my bodyguard."

"Your bodyguard?" He looked more confused than ever. "Against the paparazzi? Or do you have a crazy stalker on the loose or something?"

"Not the paparazzi. Well, not really… More like every pervert in town who won't just leave me the hell alone!" The ex-idol fumed, going off on a tangent. "I'm sick of all the attention I get walking around town from guys, young and old! Even having them stare after me, looking to see how short my skirt is while I'm just minding my own business trying to buy something at the store! Or all the guys who pull me aside after school to ask me out, or just whistling at me when I pass by in the hallway… I'm just so sick of it! ARGH, I hate men!" She growled, tugging at a hair clip that had gotten caught in a knot.

"Well, with you dressing like that it's no wonder guys follow you around…" Kanji pointed out.

"Shut up!" She smacked his arm, which he should have seen coming. "I don't always dress like this! I was just desperate to ask for your help, is all!"

"Why didn't you just ask for my help, then?" Again he pointed out, rubbing his sore arm. "Or our Senpai?"

"Because!" Rise answered quickly. "…Because…" She faltered, trying to find the right words. "Well, okay look, just answer me this question first. Normally, do you find yourself attracted to me?" She innocently cocked her head to the side. "When I don't look like a total slut? I'll try not to be offended." She bit her lip. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear his answer.

"…I guess not?" He answered slowly, trying to think back on whether or not he ever found himself enamored with Rise. Normally, the only person he thought about that way was Naoto. Rise's pretty cute for a girl and he does think that she's attractive, but nothing serious enough to hinder their friendship.

"You see! But Yosuke and Souji-senpai are weak and have already fallen for my charms. And Teddie is… well, he's Teddie." She giggled, fixing her shirt so that only one button was left undone at the top. "You're the only one left standing, Kanji-kun! Besides, you're a big strong man, probably the scariest-looking person in town... And you just happen to be my friend! Who better for the job, right?"

"Maybe." That was enough bullshit for him. Kanji decided to get straight to the point. "What exactly do you want me to do, again?"

* * *

"Mornin', Kanji." A boy's voice called out from behind, followed by two pairs of footsteps. Kanji recognized Yosuke's voice as he turned to see him and Souji-senpai making their way into the first year's classroom. Homeroom hadn't even started yet, though he had been bored as hell sitting in the classroom for almost five minutes. "You're here early, and even on a Monday!"

"Yeah, I know…" Their kouhai groaned. He was still having trouble getting used to all of this. "But so are you guys."

"True." Souji shrugged. "By the way, Yosuke wanted to ask you something."

"Dude!" Yosuke shrieked. "Why'd you have to say it like that? You're curious too!" He argued.

"Fine." The gray-haired senpai rolled his eyes at his friend's cowardice. "We both wanted to ask you something. If you would, Yosuke?"

"…Tch." Yosuke frowned. "I guess it was _my idea_…"

"What's this about?" Kanji spoke up, glaring suspiciously at his senpai. Normally, this would scare the shit out of any of the other boys at school, but Souji and Yosuke simply smirked at his reaction.

"Well…" Yosuke paused, trying to find right the words.

"What's up with you and Rise-san?" Souji asked abruptly.

"Yeah, that." The red head nodded. "You guys came to school together this morning, and you also came and left together on Saturday." He added quickly. "We just wanted to let you know that rumors are spreading about you two."

"The SHIT?" Kanji growled, standing up from his desk. "Who the hell is spreading that bullshit? I'll—"

"Take it easy." Souji raised his hand, motioning for the blond punk to sit back down. "It's no big deal. We just wanted to ask if anything was going on between you two?"

"Well, like you said, Senpai, it's no big deal." Kanji scoffed. The two older boys looked startled at his curt reaction. "Nothin's going on between us. She just lives on the way to school, for cryin' out loud!"

"Jeez." Yosuke and Souji remarked, sending skeptical glances at one another.

"I dunno about that, Kanji. It sounds like something to me. Poor Naoto will be disappointed…" Yosuke pressed while his cautious companion nervously took a few steps back, thinking of the potential consequences of inciting the boy's anger. "Just look at you! Your anger says it all, Kanji."

"Does it now?" The younger boy growled, Yosuke's big fat mouth fueling the fire of his rage. His face slowly morphed from annoyance to pure anger before he took off, chasing his senpai out of the room.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Yosuke yelled to Souji as they raced up the stairs to the safety of their second-year classroom. Kanji stopped abruptly at the bottom of the main staircase, deciding that it wasn't worth it beating his senpai to a pulp. Yet he was still angry, furious in fact. It didn't help when Rise obliviously walked up to him with a smile, followed by some guy wolf-whistling at her as he passed by.

An infuriated Kanji, suddenly remembering his promise, turned toward the boy with a darkened stare. Rise noticed this sudden change in his demeanor, staring in awe at his boiling rage.

"I-I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" The nerdy-looking high school shook nervously before he hurriedly ran off to his classroom.

"Wow, Kanji, not bad." Rise patted his back, impressed. She felt the tension in his muscles as she touched his back and then tenderly moved her hand along his muscular arm. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine!" Kanji snapped, pulling his arm away from her before returning to his classroom. Rise frowned, staring after him just as the bell rang.

* * *

Kanji was certainly doing his job well, but Rise looked very concerned. On their way from Yasogami to Marukyu after school, an awkward silence hung in their air around the two first-years. The tattooed boy walked a few paces ahead of the beautiful ex-idol, glaring dangerously at any person in sight, boy or girl, who looked even remotely interested in the two students.

"Kanji…" Rise murmured nervously, trailing behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin's wrong." Kanji sighed, emitting a low growl that carried over to his voice. "Nothin' at all."

"C'mon." Rise quickly caught up to him, grabbing his arm. "We're friends, right? You can tell me anything."

Kanji did not answer and instead quickly pulled his arm away from the mauve-haired girl, offending her slightly.

"Hey!" She shouted, boldly tugging at his arm again which immediately brought them to a stop. "What's with you? You don't have to act like such a jerk about it! Just come out and say it, already!" She demanded, impatiently folding her arms. "Because I'm tired of your attitude!"

"What's wrong? Oh, I don't know…" Kanji answered obnoxiously, habitually spitting on the ground. "Maybe just that everyone at school thinks we're dating, and our Senpai won't get off my back about it! Those little pricks bugged me about it this morning, and again at lunch! And I was just mindin' my own business and they cornered me about it—well okay, mostly Yosuke-senpai, but still—"

"They all think we're _dating_?" She stared at him, flabbergasted. "Why would they think that?"

"What, you mean you don't know? Look at us!" He shrieked. "Look at you! Always hangin' onto me like we're a couple of lovebirds or something…"

"Kanji, you know I'm just a sensual person." Rise smiled wryly as she gently laced her arm through his, guiding him forward. "Besides, we could benefit from this."

"Well, you better knock it off unless you want—wait, WHAT?"

"Well, people can think whatever they want about us. You're just my bodyguard, remember? But if people think we're together, that'll be even more effective, won't it?" She added excitedly, disregarding his feelings all together. "Even older men will be too scared of you to bother me!"

"Why the hell would you want me as your boyfriend?" Kanji asked, dumbfounded.

"Just _acting_ like a _pretend_ boyfriend." She corrected slowly. "We don't have to announce it to anyone, but we won't argue with people when they ask about it! And it's not like we have to… kiss or anything, just go about like usual. Everyone will get over it in time."

"Huh… Wait, you sure you want to scare off every guy that comes to see you?" He asked skeptically. "Don't you want a boyfriend?"

"Not really." She shrugged. "I'm pretty happy with my life right now."

Kanji remained silent after that, thinking about how this could jeopardize any chance he'd have with Naoto whenever she came back to school. But before he could think too long and hard about it, Rise tugged at his arm and smiled at him with that doll face look of hers. He reluctantly allowed her to pull him all the way downtown until they arrived in front of Marukyu. By then, he had nearly forgotten what he was thinking about.

"Ah, home sweet home." She beamed at her store. It was times like this that she was glad she left showbiz for the countryside. "Wanna come in for some ganmodoki?" She offered. "You've certainly earned it."

Kanji thought about this for a moment, remembering the promise they'd made a few days ago. He slowly began to realize that maybe he'd gotten the underhand of this deal—as much ganmodoki as he wanted, whenever he wanted. He didn't even like tofu that much, but his mother was certainly glad to have the extra fried tofu fitter lying around the fridge.

"Yeah, I guess I have." He smiled slightly. "Sure, you owe me."

"Coming right up!" Rise announced as she ran into the store, quickly tying her form-fitting apron around her waistline before reaching for her cap. "Grandma, I'm home!" She called out to the back.

Kanji slowly made his way up the front steps and took a seat at the "Tofu Bar" attached to Rise's prep station, waiting for her to come over.

"Okay…" She exhaled, her eyes scanning the area for all of the ingredients. "We'll start with two and see if you're hungry."

"Just keep 'em coming, woman. I'm always hungry." He ordered, earning a quick smack on the head.

"Don't call me 'woman,' you pig!" She playfully chastised him before reaching into the mini-fridge under the bar.

"Ow…" He rubbed his head, turning to stare pleasantly out at the busy street while Rise got to work. That's when he caught sight of two high school boys heading into the store. He glared at them, for reasons he didn't fully understand, until he realized who they were. Rise, in the mean time, was absently humming to herself in the background.

"There she is!" The shorter one whispered loud enough for both Rise and Kanji to hear. Both teens stiffened at the sound of his voice.

"Oh my god, it's Risette in her work clothes!" The louder one announced to his friend, blushing when he realized how audible his voice was.

Kanji decided to remain calm for the time being, turning back towards Rise when he noticed her place a cup of water in front of him. He slowly sipped it, anxiously waiting to hear anything else from the two boys he nearly beat up the other day.

"'Scuse me!" The louder one asked, deciding to play it cool. "Can I order something?"

"What do you want?" Rise answered flatly. It reminded Kanji of the first time he had met her.

"Wow… it's really you!" His timid companion answered with a blush, while his friend elbowed him in the stomach.

"Dude, knock it off! Ah, hey, there." He quickly recovered, walking over towards her prep station. He stopped right next to Kanji, standing beside his seat without noticing him. "Got any… uh, silken tofu?"

"Yes, we do." She nodded politely. "I'll be with you in just a second, though. I'm with a customer right now."

"Oh. Y-you have a customer? Who?" The obnoxious boy asked, trying to keep the conversation going, before glancing down at the intimidating-looking boy sitting at the bar. He didn't seem to recognize him with Kanji's back turned, though that familiar feeling kept nagging at him.

"Me, dumbass." Kanji grunted, turning towards the two delinquents with a plastered smile. They froze in place once they realized who it was. "She's helping me, right now. You're not in any hurry to leave, are ya?"

"What the—who's this, your boyfriend?" The louder boy pestered, with a jealous glint in his eyes.

"Nah, it's just Kanji. He must be her gay best friend." The seemingly shyer one answered boldly before he and his friend erupted with laughter.

"Kanji…" Rise instinctively grasped his arm, trying to calm him down once she sensed that he was going to blow any second.

"You could do so much better, Rise. With a body and talent like yours…" The obnoxious boy smirked. "It's a shame you ever left showbiz, but lucky for us that you're here."

Rise grimaced upon hearing this, narrowing her eyes at their persistent rudeness. "Don't call me by my first name!"

"You fucking pricks better run—" The bleached-blond teen abruptly stood up, ready to pummel these boys to the ground. Before Rise could interfere, all three of them took off running out of the store. Luckily, nothing had been knocked over on their way out.

"Kanji, don't!" Rise yelled after him. "Damn it!"

"Quite a lively young fellow, isn't he?" Her grandmother emerged from the back, revealing herself to her granddaughter.

"Grandma! I'm so sorry about that, really I just—"

"It's alright, Rise. Nothing you can do about it. Boys will be boys." She laughed, her voice shaking with age. "So, I see you took my advice. What's his name?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, that's Kanji. He's my new bo—Oh my god, Kanji! I have to go!" Rise suddenly realized, throwing off her cap as she ran out of the store, still wearing in her apron.

She fearfully glanced in every conceivable direction, trying to find any sign of chaos or disarray before she asked the nearest person if they had been seen. A young housewife directed her to the Northern Shopping District, which is where she claimed she saw Kanji chasing after those boys.

Rise ran like the wind past Aiya, not caring who stared at her as she passed by, not caring that she looked flustered and fearful. All she knew was that she needed to find them quickly, or Kanji might seriously hurt one of them, if not both.

She stopped short once she heard a loud smacking sound, followed by several grunts and shouts repetitiously emitting from a nearby alleyway. A large clang of something smashing against the ground startled her further, prompting her to look.

The ex-idol stepped cautiously into the alleyway, watching helplessly as a black-eyed Kanji hit one of the boys over the head with the lid of a garbage can. The other boy tried tackling him from behind, but was met with Kanji's pointed elbow colliding with his jaw, dislodging it.

Rise could do nothing but stare in horror at the scene of carnage transpiring before her, her hands absently cupping her mouth to keep her from screaming or being sick, possibly both. She wanted to be protected, but not like this. Not at the expense of others, but especially not at Kanji's expense.

"No! Kanji, STOP!" She shouted, snapping out of her dazed state. "Stop it!" She shrieked with tears streaming down her face.

The three boys continued to clash, until one of them decided to make a run for it and flew past Rise. It didn't matter which of the boys it was, only that he looked even worse than Kanji did, with blood spilling out of his mouth and a loose tooth hanging off the left side of his lip. Kanji staggered after this boy, while the other boy took the chance to kick him to the ground before following his friend, but not before Kanji grabbed his ankle and forced him to trip. Kanji was about to drag him back towards him to continue the fight before Rise stepped in and met his fist with her hand, allowing the weaker boy to crawl away and escape.

"K-Kanji, don't…" Rise winced from the pain of his fist colliding with her hand. She slid to the ground and kneeled before him, blocking his view of the two boys who had fled from the scene, while her hands gripped his shoulders as she forced him to look her in the eye. That's when he realized how horrified she looked, with bloodshot eyes and a tear-stained face. That's when he realized that he had hurt her without meaning to. A twinge of guilt had finally brought him back to reality. "Please, stop!" She choked out, once more, her reddened face swelling with more tears.

Kanji said nothing, but breathed in deeply. He slowly relaxed the tension in his muscles as he shamefully stared down at her knees, covered by a spotty, blood-stained apron. It was his blood, dripping down his face and onto her pure white dress.

Rise pressed her forehead against his own as he stared horrifically down at her apron. Meanwhile, she had closed her eyes and sobbed quietly to herself before tackling him with a hug. He was taken aback by her sudden reaction, but remained seated as he naturally pulled her towards him. He clutched the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair, cooing softly in her ear as she sobbed against his shoulder, murmuring 'Shh' every time her nails dug into his shirt.

"Not like this…" Her muffled voice wept, reaching his ears. "I didn't want it to be like this!"

"Rise…" He pressed his forehead against her shoulder, closing his eyes.

* * *

The chilled evening air had dried Rise's tears and when she felt strong enough, she draped a limp Kanji's arm over her shoulder. He kept insisting that he was fine, and most of him was, but he was exhausted, and his face had been badly bruised from the fight, damaged even in some places.

"Let's get you home, Rise…" He painfully clutched his side. "Seriously, I can walk you back."

"No, you can't." She stated firmly. "I'm taking you to your house right now. It's not far from here."

"But how will you get back?" He asked, purely concerned over her well being. He staggered out of the alleyway with her as she guided him up sidewalk towards Tatsumi Textiles. "It's late, and you could get hurt out here."

"Don't." Her weary eyes narrowed. "Just… don't say another word, okay?"

Rise sounded pretty angry, making Kanji feel even guiltier about everything he'd done. It was hard for him not to worry about her, but he chose to remain silent the rest of the way home.

"We're here." Rise announced flatly after a while, straightening him up a bit before knocking. Trying to retain some sense of dignity, he let go of her, grasped the nearest door frame and stood up straight, proving that he was able to stand on his own as his mother opened the door to greet them.

"Hello? Oh, dear… What happened this time, Kanji?" Tatsumi-san pursed her lips, making a 'tsk tsk' sound at her hardheaded son as she cupped his cheeks in her hands. His right hand instinctively swatted her hands away from him. When she noticed Rise standing beside him, she smiled pleasantly at the young woman. "Ah, Rise-chan. How wonderful to see you. Won't you come in?"

"Thank you." Rise bowed politely. "C'mon, Kanji." She gently pressed her hand on his back, guiding him as he walked in after his mother, groaning with embarrassment.

His mother had run off to prepare a warm towel while Rise guided him to the nearest chair, helping him to sit down. He sat there motionlessly as she went to turn on the nearest removable light and positioned it above his face, but out of his range of sight. From there, she could clearly view the swelling in his right cheek and another swelling on left eyebrow, along with dark circles around the same eye. A trail of dried blood ran down his nostrils and down past his chin. She realized that was where the blood on her apron had come from.

Rise instinctively gasped, taking a weary step backwards as she bit her lip, fighting back another round of tears. All of this was overwhelming for her, especially the twinge of guilt she felt for allowing this happen.

"Oh, dear…" His mother startled her, coming up from behind with a first aid kit in hand. "How many were there?"

"Two." He coughed out. "High school boys, though."

"Well, at least you aren't going after gangs again..." She sighed helplessly at her reckless son's actions while applying light dabs of warm water onto his swollen face. "I was so worried about you when you disappeared back in May, you know."

"Ma…" He groaned weakly, licking his dry lips.

"Oh! Rise-chan, please forgive me. I need to get a pot of tea going for us; will you take over for me?" His mother smiled, handing the young teenager a handful of alcohol wipes and a hot towel.

"Of course, I will." Rise nodded, determined to make up for everything. "I'm sorry about all of this. And you really don't have to do that for me…" She frowned. "This is my fault, you know."

His mother wearily stood up and patted her shoulder, "Now, now, you brought him back in one piece, didn't you? I'm grateful for that."

Rise stared after her until she disappeared, watching her shut the sliding door. Then she slowly turned her attention back Kanji. She closed her eyes and laughed a little at how easily she had been let off the hook before kneeling down beside him, tucking her apron under her knees. He couldn't look her in the eye, but he glanced in her direction as she began to peel off the wrappings of the alcohol wipes.

"Your mom is so polite." She began lightheartedly.

"Yeah..." Kanji wiped his nose with the back of his hand, sniffling. "She's nosy though. It's really embarrassing."

"Really? She didn't ask us too many questions." Rise pointed out.

"Yeah, well, she won't ask you." He answered humorously. "I'll be bombarded with questions when you leave. Of course, she'll chew your ear off about me while you're here…"

Rise giggled, smiling weakly as she softly grasped his cheek. "I won't mind. She's lovely."

"Hmph." He closed his eyes, absently pressing his cheek against her hand.

"Your eye looks pretty bad." Rise noticed, changing the subject as she wiped the blood off his nose and chin. "I'm surprised they overtook you like that… They didn't look all that strong."

"It was just a couple of cheap shots." He grunted, wincing when she applied a swab of alcohol to his eyebrow. "Ow!"

"Losing your touch, Kanji?" She teased, clutching his face a little tighter as he struggled a bit. "I thought you beat people up for a living."

"Not anymore." He answered earnestly. "Besides, being your bodyguard pays better."

They smiled at each other, though her smile began to falter when she thought back to everything that had happened. He seemed to notice this change of expression, and lightly nudged her arm to comfort her. "…Don't forget about that ganmodoki that you still owe me."

"I won't." She beamed, happily remembering that there was at least something she could do for him.

After a few moments of tending to his wounds, she rose from her spot to reach for another clean towel. At the mere mention of the fried tofu fritter he had been promised, she paused to call to mind something very important.

"Oh no, I left my grandmother alone to watch the store! And it's nightfall! Shit... She's probably really worried about me." She spoke quickly as she walked across the room, absently retying the back of her apron that had come a little loose. "I can't believe I forgot all about her!" When she collected herself, Rise swiftly spun around to face him. "I should go."

"You plannin' on going out there alone?" Kanji spoke up. "You can't leave now! It's dark out. Not without me, anyway."

"It's just a short walk from here." She brushed him off, reaching for her shoes beside the doorway. "It's really okay! I'll be fine on my own."

His eyes narrowed as he watched her begin to put her shoes back on. "Don't make me get up from this chair."

"Rise-chan, you have to stay." His mother walked in, having eavesdropped on the conversation. "I can contact your grandmother for you. It's no trouble, at all! She was good friends with my mother, you know."

The young girl stopped what she was doing, feeling her heart skip a beat as she tried to think of a way to convince them otherwise. She felt heat rise to her cheeks when his mother tried to convince her to stay as well. "But—"

"If you leave, I'm coming with you." Kanji leaned forward and threatened her with a smirk. "It's my job, you know."

She wanted to argue, but reluctantly nodded her head after helplessly being corned by the two.

"Now I'm the one who's embarrassed." Rise muttered, glaring at Kanji, who looked amused by all of this.

"It's settled then." Tatsumi-san beamed at the young girl. "I'll prepare a futon for you in the living room. Unless you want to sleep in Kanji's room, that's fine too."

"MA!" He shouted, staring her down with his darkened gaze.

"Alright, alright… No need to get angry about it. But just so you know, I'm perfectly fine with that." She laughed heartily; amused at the sight of their flustered facial expressions. Both of them looked positively humiliated. "Now let's all have some tea before bedtime, shall we? Oh and Rise-chan, I can wash that apron for you if you want?"

"O-okay…" Rise caved again, figuring there was no use fighting with the older woman. She was overbearingly nice, but in an intimidating way. Sort of like Kanji, she thought to herself.

"Man, she's a piece of work…" Kanji fumed, cussing under his breath as he sat back in his chair.

* * *

In the earliest hours of the morning, near dawn, Rise laid awake in the makeshift futon in Kanji's living room. She had barely slept that night, too busy thinking back on yesterday's events. She cringed every time she pictured Kanji's swollen face, or heard in her mind the sound of bones cracking.

It also bothered her the way Kanji and his mother had been so pleasant and kind of her. She had tried to explain to them that she was to blame for what happened, but Kanji insisted that they had directly insulted him first.

Yet she couldn't accept that to be the case, unless Kanji really was that sensitive about being called a queer. His mother didn't seem too surprised either, when he came home looking like that.

Rise sighed aloud again, for the millionth time that night, and roughly curled up in her sheets, staring lethargically out the window. She debated with herself whether or not she should just leave once the sun rose, before Kanji even woke up, and try to forget this ever happened. Though it was a school day, and he wouldn't be too happy with her if he found her missing from bed.

Sleep finally overcame her, if only for an hour or so.

Her eyes fluttered open when she heard a creaking noise descending the staircase. A beam of sunlight peaked through the ornate curtains beside her futon and touched her eyes, forcing her to rise from bed.

It was finally morning.

She quietly tip-toed to the bathroom to get dressed into her worn uniform, then walked back into the living room to find her apron laid out on the couch for her. The blood stains were gone, as well as whoever had left it there for her. Still, she found that traces of dried blood were still visible when she held the apron up in the light.

Staring at the apron made her realize that all her stuff for school was at home, so she'd have to go back for it. Perhaps if she left him a note, since it was morning, he would understand. She had abused his kindness enough as it is and didn't want to overstay her welcome.

Rise clutched the soft cloth and walked around the room, looking for a piece of paper and a pen. She wandered into the hallway when there was nothing disposable to be found in the living room. That's where she caught sight of Kanji, leaning against front door, already dressed and ready for school. He silently lifted his gaze to meet hers, smirking triumphantly before clearing his throat.

"Okay, you got me." Rise threw up her arms in defeat.

She looked relieved once she noticed that the swelling in his face had gone down, and the only visible damage was his semi-darkened left eye. Other than that, he seemed perfectly fine.

"It's still really early. Do you wanna get breakfast?" He stood up stiffly, tossing his bag over his shoulder.

"Breakfast sounds great..." Her smile faltered as she continued, "But aren't you just a little bit sick of me by now?" Rise bashfully rubbed her arm, averting his gaze.

"Nah..." He brushed it off with a smile, turning to slide open the front door. "It's cool."

His answer, though vague, seemed to lift her spirits. She beamed and quickly followed out after him, flirtatiously slipping her arm through his.

* * *

So, what'd you think? Chapter 2 is coming soon.


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